Family-run real estate firm marks 50 years

When the late Helen Adams opened Helen Adams Realty here in 1963, there weren't many female Realtors in the area, much less owners of their own firms.

CLAYTON PARKBUSINESS WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — When the late Helen Adams opened Helen Adams Realty here in 1963, there weren't many female Realtors in the area, much less owners of their own firms. Little could she or anyone else have guessed that her small real estate brokerage, which eventually changed its name to Adams, Cameron & Co. Realtors, would grow to become the largest in the Volusia-Flagler area, with more than 200 agents and six sales offices. Adams, Cameron recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. It is run by Adams' son, Robert, the company's chief executive officer, and grandson John, the general manager. Another one of her grandsons, Ryan, Robert's youngest son, is a top producing agent with the company. Helen Adams, who died in January at age 87, continued to regularly come to work until just a few days before her death. Robert Adams, 70, said his mother was passionate about the real estate business, loved helping clients buy and sell homes, and had an indomitable will. "If she wanted something, she wasn't going to take no for an answer," he recalled, adding, "She was pretty fearless." He said his parents, Helen and Jack, bought a small motel in what is now Daytona Beach Shores in the 1950s, shortly after moving to the area from Buffalo, N.Y., but wound up taking day jobs to help make ends meet. "My mom started working in real estate, while dad became a real estate appraiser," Robert Adams recalled, adding that his father later got a job with Security First Federal Savings & Loan in Daytona Beach, eventually becoming head of the financial institution's real estate appraisal department. After working as a Realtor with another brokerage, Helen Adams decided to start her own firm and recruited a few other agents to join her. By the time Robert Adams joined the firm in 1971, the brokerage had grown to a half-dozen agents. Less than two years later, the firm opened a second office and added several more agents by acquiring another local real estate brokerage. In 1978, the firm — which briefly went under the name Adams Family Realty — changed its name to Adams, Cameron when it merged with Cameron Real Estate to become the area's largest real estate brokerage, with four offices and 80 agents. That same year, Robert Adams assumed the title of president, while his mother became chairman. Dave Cameron, the owner of Cameron Real Estate, became vice president. Cameron retired in 1980. Adams, Cameron has continued to grow over the years, in part through additional acquisitions, including its purchase in 2006 of the real estate arm of Hayward Brown. Adams, Cameron also launched an affiliated business called Adams, Cameron Title Services. John Adams, 42, joined Adams, Cameron in 2004 to work for his father and grandmother after working for accounting giant Arthur Andersen and as chief operating officer of an online marketing company in Chicago. Ryan, 38, who joined the family business 15 years ago as an agent, was personally taught the ropes by his grandmother. "I worked side by side with her," he recalled of his start in real estate. Leila Gosney, executive officer of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors from 1983 to 2001, said Helen Adams was "a dynamic, enthusiastic person," whose love for the business was "contagious." "Her family caught that same attitude from her," Gosney said, noting that Helen Adams was extremely proud that her son and grandchildren also chose to get involved in the business. Robert Adams' daughter Erin is a part-time agent with Adams, Cameron while his other daughter, Lauren, has been involved in the business in the past. Gosney, who today works for the Bob Fritze School of Real Estate in Holly Hill, said an unsung hero in Adams, Cameron's success story was Helen's husband Jack, now 92. Even though Jack Adams did not have an active role with the company, he was "the man behind the scenes," Gosney said. "He certainly was a good influence on (Helen Adams) and very supportive."